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A public defender is an attorney employed by the community
and responsible for giving legal aid without cost to any person who seeks it
and is financially unable to employ private counsel.
It is his duty to defend those accused of crime until the issue is decided in the court of law.
The first public defender's office in the United States was opened in January 1913.
Over the years, other offices were opened, and today that handful has grown to a network,
a network of lawyers cooperating to protect the rights of our clients.
In horse racing, just as in all sports, there's an axiom, they never come back.
Johnny Hatton was an ax champ who tried to break the jinx.
Around the last turn is Mystic Saar on the rail and Cash Register head and head.
Limehouse is beginning to move on the outside.
In the stretch is Mystic Saar and Cash Register. Cash Register and Mystic Saar.
And here comes Limehouse on the outside.
Uh-oh, there appears to be trouble between Johnny Hatton on Mystic Saar and Eddie Barrows on Cash Register.
Eddie Barrows is down!
15,000 witnesses had seen Johnny Hatton court rival jockey Eddie Barrows from the saddle.
The latter was rushed to the hospital.
Hatton was booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
As he was without funds, his case was assigned to the public defender.
Well, Johnny?
There's no use denying it. I hated his guts. But I didn't start the fight.
But the films of the race show that you courted him from the saddle.
Yeah, but he hit me first. Ask some of the other jockeys. One of them must have seen it.
The DA already checked. He has a witness who heard you threaten Eddie before the race. Did you?
Well, I... I was pretty sore. I said a lot of things I didn't mean. You've got to believe that.
I can't help until I know the whole story, Johnny.
All right, Mr. Matthews, I'll level with you.
You see, in this racket, you're only as good as your last race.
Well, I hadn't had a winner in months. Then last winter, I had that spill at Santa Anita.
Yeah, I remember.
Well, that got me to thinking. Maybe I'd better get out while I was still in one piece.
So, my wife and I opened a restaurant near the track.
Johnny Hatton's Turf Club.
Didn't last very long.
$30,000 down the drain in six months.
I ought to have my head examined for getting us in this mess.
Don't talk like that, darling. We just got in a long shot and it didn't pay off, that's all.
Bet on the wrong jockey, you mean.
Well, I had no more chance of bringing home a winner in a racket like this than a...
than a bartender in a Kentucky Derby.
Exactly how do we stand?
Well, I've held out enough cash for a month or two, but...
we still owe $4,000.
Oh, Johnny, no.
Honey, don't worry. I never stiffed anybody in my life and I'm sure not going to start now.
Honey, look, I tell you, there's nothing to worry about.
Why, I could make that much in one afternoon in a good steak race.
Connie, baby, look.
There's just no other way. I...
I got to make a comeback.
Is that what you really want?
Sure, baby, it'll be a cinch. I've kept in good shape and I'd like to be riding again in a week.
But, honey, this time... this time we're going all the way to the top.
Oh, Johnny, if you only knew how long I've waited to hear you say that.
Johnny Hatton began his comeback a week later.
Always a colorful rider, his return gave the local sports columnists a full day.
Hey, get a load of this by Parker in the graphic.
Johnny Hatton will probably wet down the fire of his former protege, Eddie Barrels,
who has been burning up the local turf of late, despite three set downs for rough riding.
Eddie will be in against his former mentor today,
and the old maestro is still man enough to cut him down to schoolboy size.
Hey, this guy's pretty good, huh?
That thing.
Keep acting like that and Johnny's liable to keep you in after class.
Well, maybe it's about time somebody gave a few new lessons to the teacher.
Forget it, Eddie. It's just some sports rider trying to fill space.
It's been a long time between races.
Yeah, we missed you.
Like an also ran.
Johnny, don't let him get you down.
Why, you were booting home long shots before he even knew which end of the horse came first.
Is that what they told you when I was coming up?
Well, it ain't exactly the same, Johnny.
You see, I wait a little bit too long for my comeback.
But you, you've got a lot of good years left.
Yeah, sure.
If I get by the first race.
Oh, you can't miss, Johnny.
Remember this?
This is the one you carried in the derby in 37.
Mm-hmm.
You see, after I won, I promised myself I'd never use it again
until something as big as a derby came along.
Well, for me, it never came, Johnny.
I'm going to miss you, Johnny, and I'm going to miss your turn.
Well, it's just about time.
Going to wish me luck, honey?
You don't have to ask for that.
This is it, baby.
I've been waiting six months for dirty.
What do you mean, if you win?
Is this a private party?
Or can an old friend break in?
Oh, hi, Eddie.
Gee, it's good to see you again.
Hi, Connie.
Just like old times, isn't it?
Still back at the dinner?
Haven't I always?
You know, that's what I like about you, honey.
Always make sure you don't finish out of the money,
even if you have to change horses in the middle of the race.
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The horses are almost in position.
We might get a break at any moment now.
They're off and running.
Marge and McGrew breaking on top.
Marta's pal is second.
Tuckboat is third.
Jason's trick is next.
Robber Baron and swords play.
Come on, Johnny boy.
Come on, boy.
You can do it, Johnny.
You know you can.
Get out of my way, my strobe.
Move over, you crazy fool.
It's McGrew out front by a length.
Tuckboat second.
Marta's pal and Jason's trick.
It's McGrew and Marta's...
Tuckboat is down.
Hi, Johnny.
How you doing?
What are you doing here?
It wasn't my idea.
Connie thought you could use a little pep talk.
Connie.
Hey, get easy.
I just dropped by the apartment to see if there was anything I could do.
Anything you could do?
Well, that stunt you pulled out there today could have killed us both.
No, it couldn't, Johnny.
There wasn't any chance of me getting hurt.
You know all the answers, don't you, Eddie?
Including every dirty trick in the book.
Well, I should.
You taught me.
Sure I taught you because you were nothing but a green punk.
You bet I was.
Thinking what a great guy you were, helping me to get a break.
Know why?
You were making time with Connie behind my back.
Listen.
You got no claims on her.
I'm not blaming her.
You were riding high then.
Big car, big reputation, plenty of dough.
Should have been a fool to turn you down.
Get out of here, Eddie.
Go on, get out!
Don't interfere, Johnny.
You can always make another come back.
In his heart, Johnny Hatton knew there was no choice but to resume his ill-starred career.
But he kept postponing the inevitable decision.
Oh, thank you, Connie.
So here's Whitey out on a limb.
Here's Jamie girl ready to go on a stake Saturday, and Whitey still hasn't got a rider.
Oh, that figures.
Not even a glue factory would claim that nag.
Oh, that's not fair.
You haven't even seen the horse.
No, but I've read the form sheets, and that's enough for me.
All right, all right.
So she hasn't shown very much.
But Whitey's been bringing her along nice and easy-like.
And now, Johnny, she's ready to go all the way.
Not with me, she isn't.
But why, Johnny?
Even if you don't win, you'd be riding again.
You'd prove to everyone you were all over your last spill.
She's right, Johnny.
You know, everybody's beginning to wonder.
Look, I said I didn't want the job, and that's final.
Now, why don't you get out of here and leave me alone?
I'm sorry, Connie.
I was just trying to help.
He didn't mean it, Louie.
He's been jumpy all week.
I know.
I mean, it's not easy to come back after a tough spill.
But he'll snap out of it.
Bye, Louie.
Goodbye, Connie, and don't worry.
How could you do it, Johnny?
He's the best friend we've ever had.
All right, but that doesn't give him the right
to stick his nose in my business.
By trying to get you a job?
If that's interfering, we could use a lot more of it.
Why haven't you taken a good look at your wallet lately?
Oh, cut it out, Connie.
I'll get some dough someplace.
By opening up another restaurant?
Or maybe you'd rather have me borrow another $200 from Eddie.
Eddie?
Oh, Connie, you didn't.
Well, one of us had to do something.
I couldn't just sit around the house without any money
while you kept making excuses not to ride.
No, I guess not.
Where are you going?
To the track.
I'll be right back.
Johnny Hatton was signed for the maiden stakes
on the strength of his past reputation.
He knew his entire future would depend on the way
he handled the filly when the chips were down.
What kind of an outfit am I riding for?
Do they call that a rig?
Now, take it easy, Johnny.
It's just another horse race.
Now, remember, you're in the outside post position.
You can try to cut in then.
All right, all right.
I know you told me 20 times.
Now, leave me alone.
All right, son.
Jamie girl is all yours.
But don't forget, neither one of us
can afford a loser at this stage.
Ride your usual race, Johnny.
Make it easy on the rest of us.
Don't kid yourself.
You're going to need a lot of dirt in the next two minutes.
Stay out of my way, Johnny.
You'll end up like the last time.
The horses are entering the starting gate.
They're behaving very well.
Watch it.
Watch it.
And there they go.
It's Otto by a head at the start.
Knight rider by a nose.
Doll baby by a hat.
Jamie girl, pajama, and sea queen.
Cut it now.
Jamie girl is pulled up and taken to the outside.
Now she's falling back.
It's doll baby by a hat.
Otto's by a hat.
Kite rider by a leg.
Pajama, sea queen, and Jamie girl.
Johnny, how long are you going to keep this up?
You haven't said a word to me since the race.
What do you want me to say?
I lost.
The nag didn't have it, that's all.
I saw what happened.
I heard what they were saying in the stands.
What do you mean?
They said you quit cold.
You lost your nerve.
That's a lie.
I never had a chance to get through.
I wish I could believe that, Johnny.
Hi, Sam.
Hi.
Just coffee, please.
Look, Sam, there's over 100 owners at this meeting.
You ought to be able to spot me with somebody.
Listen, Johnny, I'm only an agent, not a magician.
Right now, I couldn't get you a job as an exercise boy.
It's as bad as all that, huh?
Don't take long.
Once they think you're understood.
By the way, you might pull out before you wind up like Louie Ingram,
playing wet nurse to a lot of fresh kids that wouldn't be allowed on the track in his day.
Yeah, but you don't understand.
It's not just for me, Sam.
It's Connie.
She still thinks I'm a big shot.
She'll get over it.
They all do.
Uh-uh.
Coffee's on me.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
Anytime.
Whitey, could I talk to you a minute?
Well?
I know what everybody's saying, but they're wrong, Whitey.
I was just rusty.
I wasn't yellow.
Please, you've got to give me another chance.
The last chance I gave you cost me a $10,000 purse.
I'll make it up to you.
I swear I will.
Sure, sure, you'll make it up to me.
Just have your agent get you a job with somebody else.
Hi, Eddie.
Hi.
Uh, the usual, honey.
I thought you were never going to show up.
You ought to know me better than that.
Oh, this is like old times.
Oh, please, Eddie.
OK, we got lots of time.
How'd you duck Johnny?
He's still at the track making the rounds.
Well, it's a waste of time.
After last week, nobody out there would
touch him with a 10-foot pole.
Not even if you asked him?
Me?
What an imagination you've got.
Oh, oh.
You've been asking so much, Eddie.
He went to bat for you 100 times when you needed him.
Yeah.
Only while he was at it, he just happened
to run off with my dang.
But that's all I ever was to you, Eddie.
Just another day.
Maybe I didn't know how I felt then.
But I do now.
Then you'll help him?
For my sake?
OK, baby.
Just for you.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, I know the horse.
Well, do you figure he can go a mile and a quarter?
Oh, I see.
530?
Yes, sir, I'll be there.
Thank you very much.
Goodbye.
Honey.
Honey, we're back in business.
Ray Longo wants me to ride Mystic Star in a handicap.
Oh, that's wonderful, Johnny.
I knew something would turn up.
I can't figure that out, though.
Two days ago, when I asked him for a job,
he pretty much threw me out of the stable.
Listen to me.
Just get him off fast like I told you.
He'll never last.
It's a mile and a quarter.
The way I figure, you don't have to go that far.
What do you mean?
There'll be 200 grand in sucker money on Limehouse.
The syndicate isn't about to drop that kind of dough.
It's not when we can find insurance.
Oh, on a hungry jockey, huh?
I'll give it to you straight.
Mystic Star is fast enough to break on top
and stay there till Limehouse makes his move.
Only he won't go anywhere, because you're
going to box him in while Eddie Barrow sneaks
through on cash register.
Oh, I get it.
It's a boat race, huh?
And I'm supposed to be the fancy.
That's the beauty of the setup.
With the reputation, you've gotten
over your suspected thing.
And you get five grand for less than two minutes' work.
Look, if the syndicate wants Limehouse beat,
let me do it on the level with Mystic Star all the way.
Grow up, Johnny.
If the nag had a chance, you think I'd
have hired a broken down has-been like you to ride him?
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
And all the time I thought you were trying to...
Don't take it so hard, Johnny.
If everything goes all right, the more
you'll be on the payroll.
Sure, sure, until the next boat race.
Well, it's better than sweeping out stables.
We might let you win once in a while,
just to keep your wife happy.
I'll see you later.
Johnny, where you been?
I've been telephoning all over for you.
That's a new switch, you checking on me.
You better get some sleep.
You'll never be in condition to ride tomorrow.
What difference does it make, as long as your little friend
Eddie is the first to cross the wire?
Then it's true.
It is going to be a boat race.
I figured somebody would fill you in on the details.
Louie overheard you talking with Longo about it this morning.
He couldn't believe it.
Not after all these years and your reputation.
Yeah, what have I got to show for it?
Crummy apartment and a whole drawer full of pawn tickets.
And what about your self-respect?
Doesn't that mean anything to you, Johnny?
Oh, you're a fine one to talk.
I suppose you were thinking about my self-respect
when you went to Eddie, huh?
You can cut out your act.
Longo told me how I got the job.
All right, so I went to him.
Maybe it was wrong, Johnny, but I did it for you.
I didn't know it was going to be a boat race.
You mean you didn't care?
All you wanted was the big dough, and you didn't care how you got it.
Stop it, Johnny.
You don't know what you're saying.
Look at me.
I wouldn't rate a dame like you in 100 years.
Not unless I was a top jockey riding high and could
give you everything you wanted.
Is that why I stuck with you when the riding got rough
and the rest went fail?
All I care about's you, Johnny.
Full money I wanted, I would have gone to Eddie a long time ago.
Why don't you go to him now?
It's not too late.
Because I love you, Johnny.
You're not like Eddie.
You never were.
Riding's more than just a fat purse to you, Johnny.
It's your whole life.
It's what makes you important, not just to me, but to yourself.
That's why you've got to go out there tomorrow and do the right thing.
I can't get out now.
I'm in too deep.
If you really love me, Johnny, you'll find a way.
Remember, Limehouse will make us move in the far turn.
You know what to do.
Yeah, I know.
Keep your ears toed, then.
I'll be coming up on the inside.
Keep away from me, Eddie, or I'll plant you so far in the dirt
they'll have to dig you up.
In the back stretch, it's cash register on the rail
and mystic star by half a length.
Limehouse by a length, roundies, and zemlick.
Now it's cash register and mystic star, Limehouse by a half.
Around the last turn, it's mystic star on the rail
and cash register.
Come on, Johnny.
You can do it.
You can do it.
Cash register on the rail is dropping back.
Now he's coming on again.
He's going to the outside of mystic star.
Uh-oh.
There appears to be trouble between Johnny Hatton on mystic
star and Eddie Ferrells on cash register.
Eddie Ferrells is down.
That's the whole story, Mr. Matthews.
I tried to warn him before the race, but he wouldn't listen.
And you're positive you didn't start swinging until after he
hit you?
I swear it.
You've got to believe that.
I have to do more than that, Johnny.
I have to prove it to a jury.
Johnny's story was confirmed by the valet, Louis Ingram.
But that in itself could not prove him innocent of the assault
and the charge on which he was held.
Further investigation convinced me that the only man who could
clear him was his victim, Eddie Barrows.
And there was only one way to make him talk.
According to Johnny, you started the fight.
He only hit back in self-defense.
It's too bad the cameras didn't pick it up that way.
You made sure of that by cutting him in the leg so it couldn't be
spotted.
I don't get it.
You had a great future in racing until you let a stupid grudge
get the best of you.
You're breaking my heart.
You should have known Johnny wouldn't go for a boat race.
I don't have to listen to this.
But the authorities will.
When they find out that you're mixed up in this with Ray longer,
they'll suspend you so fast it'll make your head swim.
You're bluffing.
You don't have any proof.
I've got a witness, Louis Ingram, who'll back up everything I've said.
Now wake up, Eddie.
In any showdown, you'll be the one who'll suffer.
How do I know I can trust you?
All you're interested in is saving Johnny's neck.
Yours too, if you'll tell me everything you know.
So we can make a deal?
Oh.
The only deal you can make is with yourself.
What happens after that is up to the stewards.
But I'll promise you this much.
You play it straight and I'll go to bat for you right down to the wire.
Eddie Barrows made that deal with himself.
His testimony resulted in the exposure of the syndicate
and a prison sentence for Ray Longo.
The assault charges against Johnny were dismissed.
Today, both he and Eddie are once again making racing headlines.
The case you have just seen was brought to a fair and just conclusion
through the efforts of a public defender.
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